King living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Evil-merodach was a king of Babylon who released Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, from prison.
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Also known as Awel-Marduk
Evil-merodach was a king of Babylon who reigned from 562 to 560 BC. He was the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar II, the Babylonian king who had conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. In the 37th year of the exile of Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, Evil-merodach showed him kindness by releasing him from prison (2Ki.25.27; Jer.52.31). He spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon (2Ki.25.28; Jer.52.32). Evil-merodach also provided Jehoiachin with regular food allowances for the rest of his life (2Ki.25.29-30; Jer.52.33-34). This act of mercy toward the exiled king of Judah is the only event recorded in the Bible about Evil-merodach's reign.
Part of: Last kings of Judah and the prophets of the exile
In the thirty-seventh year of exile Evil-merodach of Babylon freed Jehoiachin and gave him a seat above other kings; the account ends 2 Kings on a note of hope for the Davidic line.
Sources: 2 Kgs 25:27-30 · Jer 52:31-34
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Merodach’s man, the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:27; Jer. 52:31, 34). He seems to have reigned but two years (B.C. 562-560). Influenced probably by Daniel, he showed kindness to Jehoiachin, who had been a prisoner in Babylon for thirty-seven years. He released him, and “spoke kindly to him.” He was murdered by Nergal-sharezer=Neriglissar, his brother-in-law, who succeeded him (Jer. 39:3, 13).
the fool of Merodach; the fool grinds bitterly
E'VIL-MERO'DACH, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 2 Kgs 25:27. Soon after his accession to the throne he released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison, and treated him with great regard through life. Jer 52:31-34. He began his reign b.c. 561, but in b. c. 559 he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed among his own kindred, headed by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar — probably the Nergal-sharezer of Jer 39:3, 2 Kgs 11:13 — who succeeded him.
E'VIL-MERO'DACH, son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 2 Kgs 25:27. Soon after his accession to the throne he released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison, and treated him with great regard through life. Jer 52:31-34. He began his reign b.c. 561, but in b. c. 559 he fell a victim to a conspiracy formed among his own kindred, headed by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar — probably the Nergal-sharezer of Jer 39:3, 2 Kgs 11:13 — who succeeded him.
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H0192
On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judahʼs King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned Jehoiachin king of Judah and released him from prison.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.